Saving Callie
by Lovin Suliet
Summary: AU - Stef. is an ER doctor. She is working the night Callie brought in. Kids are younger than in the show. Lena is still a vice principal, but Stef. is a doctor not a cop. Together the family try to teach Callie that there are good people still left in the world and that she is worthwhile of being loved. (Terrible at summaries). Not sure how long this will end up being.
1. Chapter 1

"Gotta go Love, the ambulance is pulling up" the blonde ER doc tells the woman on the phone. "I'll see you in the morning. Kiss my babies goodnight for me" she says before hanging up the phone.

"Dr. Foster", the nurse behind her calls her name as she runs towards the ambulance bay. "The ambulance will be pulling up in about 30 seconds"

"I'm coming" she says standing and grabbing her stethoscope from the desk and wrapping it around her neck as she follows her team. One never knew what the night shift would bring. Tonight it was just after 10pm when dispatch called with a twelve year old female who had fallen down the stairs in her home. The young girl had a decreased level of consciousness at the scene and multiple fractures. Any accident involving a child made her think of her own three children at home. Brandon was just fourteen and her adopted twins Jesus and Marianna had just turned 10. She is brought back to reality by the sirens and flashing lights that were now directly in front of her. The backdoors of the ambulance fly open and the paramedic jumps from the back and starts to give report.

"Twelve year old female, Callie Jacobs found unconscious at the bottom of the basement stairs. Vitals stable on transport, Unwitnessed accident, injuries to the right wrist and ankle. Gash to her forehead, multiple bruises in various states of healing" Steph glances back at the paramedic, "Yeah, you heard me correctly, _various_ states of healing." Stef. nods her head and he continues, "She regained consciousness in the rig, but hasn't said a word"

"On my count", Stef. tells the group as the the team carefully transfers their young patient from the stretcher to the ER bed. Stef and her team begin their initial assessment of their new patient. "Where are her parents?" she calls out to the paramedics who are gathering their equipment to leave.

"No one came with her", the medic tells her, "the girl's a foster kid, no one seemed to keen to give up their Friday to come with her. Her social worker is apparently on route…"

Stef. shakes her head in disbelief. She looks down at her patient, she looked so small on the bed, c-collared and strapped to the back board. Her dark hair matted with blood. The girl's right eye was starting to swell shut but Steph could tell she had the most beautiful dark eyes that at present they were filled with a mix of fear and sadness. "It's okay sweet girl", she tries to reassure the child "we are going to take care of you." A single tear slides from the girl's un-swollen eye.

"Can you tell us what happened to you?" Stef. asks her. She is met with silence.

"That's okay, you don't have to talk to us. Stef. slides her hand into the girls left hand, "Can you squeeze my fingers if you understand me" Within a second she feels a small squeeze of the girl's fingers in her hand. "That's good sweetie" Stef. continues to talk to the girl as the team works on her. She explains everything they are doing to her before anything is done to her.

Over the next 2 hours they work to assess and treat the girl's injuries. X-rays revealed as suspected fractures of her right wrist and ankle. Ortho had been down to cast her wrist and ankle. She was likely to need surgery on her ankle in the next 24-48 hours for but now the ortho specialist was hoping to avoid it. The x-rays also revealed multiple old fractures of her ribs. The CT scan didn't show any evidence of any brain injury. Overall, despite her battered appearance she was likely to physically anyways, make a full recovery. The child still had not spoken and other than a few tears from her eyes, had not cried.

Stef. was thankful that it was an otherwise quiet night in the ER. She'd been drawn to the girl from the moment she saw her on the stretcher and because it had been a quiet night in the ER she'd been able to spend much of the night at her bedside. The social worker had been a no show thus far, having been called to another urgent matter. She wondered to herself what could be more urgent than this poor child who they were quite sure had had much more done to her than a fall down the stairs. It was after 3am by the time a room was ready for the girl on the pediatric unit.

She entered back into the trauma room quieting, hoping the child was asleep. She was met with the sad brown eyes looking back at her. "Oh you are still awake. The nurses are ready for you upstairs". Stef. doesn't miss the look of fear that takes over the girls face and she walks over to her bedside and takes her hand. "It's okay sweetheart. The nurses upstairs are very nice. They will take good care of you. Your social worker should be here anytime."

The nurse who'd been sitting next to Callie's bed didn't miss the girls fearful look. "Go on up with her Dr. Foster, we'll page you if anything is incoming"

"What do you think Callie girl?", Stef. asks looking down at the child. Callie reaches her hand towards Stef's and squeezes her fingers. "I'll take that as a yes", Stef. replies, giving the child a smile.

They move Callie upstairs and settle her in her bed on the pediatric unit. After Callie has been tucked in and medicated for what remained of the night Steph pulls up a chair next to the bed sliding her over Callie's. The girl looked exhausted but wasn't easily going to give in to sleep.

"Can you tell me what happened Callie?" she tries again, sliding her other hand through Callie's hair, brushing a few stray hairs off her forehead.

Callie shakes her head ever so slightly that if Stef. hadn't been so intent on watching her she'd have missed it. "You can tell me sweetie, no one is going to hurt you anymore. I promise I won't let that happen."

As much as Callie wanted to open up to this woman who had shown her more kindness than any other person had in the years since her mother's death she couldn't allow herself to. She'd learned the hard way that she couldn't trust anyone but herself or her brother. The medication starts to kick in and her eyelids get heavy. She struggles to keep them open feeling like if she fell asleep the kind doctor sitting next to her would disappear.

"It's okay Callie", Stef. says watching the girl struggle to keep awake. "Go to sleep, I'm going to stay as long as I can. If I have to leave its because there is an emergency downstairs." she explains. She's met with a small squeeze from the child's hand. As Callie gives in to sleep she makes herself comfortable on the chair beside her, hoping that the rest of her shift would pass uneventfully.

There you have it. My first take with a Foster's fanfic. Recently started watching The Foster's and binge watched all the epic's so far. Been awhile since I've written anything so I'm a little rusty. Let me know what you think. Think this will run a few chapters anyways as long as there is some interest in seeing it continue.


	2. Chapter 2

**The response to the first chapter was fantastic. Thanks to those who took the time to review. Hope you enjoy round 2!**

Stef feels as though she's just fallen asleep when she feels someone touch her arm. "Dr. Foster", the nurse whispers, trying not to wake Callie. "I'm sorry to wake you, but Callie's social worker is here with an Officer Foster". Stef rubs her eyes with her free hand, the other was still tightly enclosed in Callie's hand. "What time is it?" she asks the nurse.

"Just after 7:30. We were going to wake you at shift change, but you both looked so peaceful."

She becomes more alert, realizing she'd spend the remainder of her shift in Callie's room. She pulls her pager from her scrub pants and checks to see that she hadn't missed any pages.

"It's okay", the nurse reassures her. "They called up from the ER at shift change to check on Callie. Uneventful night down there, minus this girly" she says gesturing towards Callie.

Stef carefully extracts her hand from Callie's trying hard to not wake the girl. She lets go of her breath when she realizes her hand is free and Callie sighs but doesn't wake up. "Her social worker is here?" Stef asks, remembering what the nurse had told her as she was waking up.

"Yup, I asked them to stay out in the hall."

"Thanks. Will you stay with her while I talk with them?"

"Will do", the nurse responds. They switch places and Stef takes a moment to pull herself together before stepping out in the hallway.

She see's her ex husband first. Although they'd been divorced since Brandon was a young child they remained amicable. "Mike" she greets him with a hand shake. "You are working Callie's case? The social worker who'd been standing with his back to her talking with Mike, turns at the sound of her voice.

"Stefanie", Bill says extending his hand towards her. "It's been awhile.". Standing beside her ex-husband was the social worker that had placed Mariana and Jesus with her and Lena five years earlier. She'd not seen him since their adoption had been finalized a few years ago.

"Bill", she greets him. She was still angry that it had taken him close to ten hours to arrive at the hospital after Callie had arrived.

"How is Callie?" Bill asks. "I understand from her foster parents that she took a tumble down the basement stairs".

Stef takes a few steps away from Callie's room, "A tumble down the stairs?" she replies trying to keep her temper in check, "Bill that child has been beaten and this is not the first time".

"Stef", Mike says cautioning her, placing a hand on her arm. "That is a pretty strong accusation. Did Callie tell you that?"

She shakes her head and gives them a full update on Callie's condition before continuing, "Callie hasn't said one word since she was brought in here last night. Everything that child went through last night, she didn't even cry. She may have fallen down the stairs last night but I don't think it was an accident, nor were the multiple healed rib fractures or the other multiple bruises she had in various stages of healing."

Before Stef can continue, Bill interrupts, "Callie's been in care for almost three years now. She's been in a lot of foster homes Stef. She's only been in this last home for a few weeks now. She's been . . . difficult."

Stef takes a moment before she can respond, it almost sounds like Bill was trying to make excuses for what happened in the home the previous evening. "What has this child lived through?", she wonders. Stef turns and looks through the window in the door into Callie's room. She looked so tiny and broken that it brought tears to her eyes. "Mike", she says without turning back around, not trusting herself. She was this child's doctor, nothing more. She needed to at least try and keep this professional. "What is the status of the investigation?"

Even though they'd been divorced for a long time, Mike could still read his ex. While Stef had a tough exterior he could tell this was eating her inside. "I spoke to the foster dad last night, he says he was working out in the yard and heard a crash, came in and found the door to the basement open and Callie at the bottom of the steps. Apparently they were the only two home last night, he didn't come to the hospital because he'd had a few drinks. The other kid in the home was have a sleepover at a friend's house. The foster mom was out with friends. It all seems on the up and up Stef."

"What's going to happen to her?" Stef asks, not taking her eyes off Callie. She knew she didn't have a right to know, but she needed to know. She had a sixth sense about these things, all was not right in that home.

"Once the investigation is complete, if it's ruled by the police as an accident . . she'll be placed back in the home. They are willing to take her back.", Bill tells her.

She takes a deep breath and turns around, "You said she was difficult. Why has she been moved around so much?"

"She has had some trouble with male authority figures. She acts out, runs off for long periods . ", Bill tells her.

"Maybe there's a reason for that", Stef replies sarcastically.

"Stef.", Mike starts and Stef interrupts. "Lena and I will take her. If she has issues with male authority figures that won't be a problem in our home. She can't go back to that home. I know what you said, I know that you investigated. But I'm telling you, I've been an ER doctor for a long time now . . . " she trails off, they seemed to understand what she was implying.

Before Bill or Mike could respond there was a plea for help from inside Callie's room. Stef turns at the sound of the nurses voice and pushes open the door to Callie's room. "What happened?" she asks as she see's Callie thrashing around the bed, fear plastered all over her face."

"I don't know", she nurse replies. "She just starting freaking out, trying to pull out her IV's, grabbing at her casts, thrashing all over the place. I thought she was waking up, but I think she's still asleep."

Stef runs to Callie's bedside, leaving Mike and Bill standing in the doorway watching. "Callie, sweetheart" she says calmly, trying to bring the child back from wherever it was. "You are at the hospital, what's wrong honey?" She glances at the monitor on the wall which had started screaming and notes Callie's heart rate and respiratory rate both significantly elevated.

"What's wrong with her?" Bill asks from the doorway.

Before Stef could answer him, a larger team of medical professionals had started to push their way into Callie's room. Stef calls out orders and medications are drawn up and injected into Callie's IV line. Within a few minutes Callie settles and the monitors stop alarming. Once Stef is assured that Callie is okay she leaves her bedside and walks over to where Bill and Mike were still standing and watching.

"What the hell was that?", Mike asks.

"My best guess is a night terror or a panic attack. She never really did fully wake up, I gave her sedation and more pain medication. She'll be out for another few hours now. I don't like sedating her but she was going to hurt herself further."

Bill nods his head, seeing Callie he realizes in the weeks since he'd dropped her off at her new foster home she'd changed. It wasn't just the bruising and swelling to her face, he's sure she'd lost weight as well. "The other child that is placed in the foster home is Callie's biological brother Jude. He's 7. The family wants to adopt him. They really only wanted one child but Callie and Jude have always come as a package deal. As of right now their story seems to check out, Callie's accident was unwitnessed and Jude was out of the home. I can pull Callie, but Stef, her brother has a real chance at being adopted."

Stef. hadn't been prepared to hear that the other child in the home was Callie's biological brother. She'd said she'd take Callie on a whim, Lena knew nothing of any of this yet They hadn't spoken about taking in another foster child, let alone 2. Between their jobs, her call schedule and the kids schedules did they have time for more kids? Despite her nagging doubt, the pit in her stomach telling her that her instincts were correct continued to guide her decision making. She couldn't let Callie go back to that house. "I"ll talk to Lena. I want to take her. You can't send her back to that house."


	3. Chapter 3

Stef left Callie in the care of her bedside nurses with strict instructions to page her if anything changed with the girl, and went back down her office. She needed to finish up the paperwork left over from her shift and call Lena. She knew Lena would be wondering where she was. It wasn't the norm that she missed sending the kids off to school, but it wasn't unusual either. Life in the ER was unpredictable and her work hours could be long. She loved her job though, and despite its challenges she couldn't imagine doing anything else.

She sits down at her desk and pulls Callie's chart from the top of the pile, "What am I doing?" she wonders to herself. She knew exactly what Lena was going to say. "We can't save them all Love", it was almost as though she could hear the woman's voice in her head.

"I don't know what is about you sweet girl", she thinks as she runs her finger along Callie's name.

She is brought out of her thoughts by her pager. Glancing down she was relieved it wasn't the floor, but Lena. She pulls out her cell and dials the number. "Good Morning love", she says into the phone. "I'm sorry I missed you guys this morning."

"Rough night?" Lena asks, noting the tiredness in Stef's voice.

"You could say that.", Stef replies without elaborating. "How are my babies this morning? Everyone off to school without difficulty?"

"The usual morning chaos of getting the three of them out the door on time. I"m now sitting in my quiet office with a cup of coffee, waiting for the first crisis of the day.", Lena fills her in on their morning. "What time do you think you'll get home this morning? You must be exhausted. If it was a crazy night you wouldn't have gotten much sleep." There is a silent pause between them. "Stef. you still there?"

"Lena, I . . . there was a twelve year old girl brought in last night. A foster child. . . ", Stef. spills out as much of the story as she could share with Lena at this point, "She needs us Love".

Lena sighs listening to her partner, "we can't save them all honey. There are times when we can barely handle the three we already have."

Stef sighs, "I know Lena, but this girl, there is just something about her. She can't go back to that house. We still have an active foster license. We kept talking about cancelling it but never got around to it . . the system, it's failed this child."

"Stef, honey, I don't know. I don't think this is a decision that we should make a whim."

"Come over to the hospital during your lunch break Lena, we'll talk further. I'll take you to meet her. If you still have reservations, I'll just have to make sure she goes somewhere safe."

Lena knew by the tone of Stef's voice that she wasn't going to give up. "All right", she finally agrees. "I will stop over there at lunch."

"Thank you for keeping an open mind. I'll see you soon Love", Stef tells her partner. They say their 'good bye's' and hang up.

After hanging up the phone Stef returns to her paperwork, trying to concentrate on what she was doing.

A few hours later. .

"Hey Lena", the triage nurse at the desk calls out to her as she enters. . "Dr. Foster said to let you know she is waiting for you in her office. You can go on back".

"Thanks Jody", Lena says, nodding to the nurse. All morning she'd been thinking about Stef's call. She found herself considering her partner's request and contemplating the fact that they just might be crazy. They were completely outnumbered with the 3 kids that they already have, how could they take in a 4th, especially one who could possibly carry the baggage that this girl might.

She wanders down the hallway to her Stef's office, knocks on the door and lets herself in.

Stef looks up from her paperwork on hearing the knock, "Hey Love" she smiles when Lena enters her office. She gets up from her desk and walks over and embraces Lena. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course I'd come honey", Lena says returning her partners embrace. "How is Callie?" she asks.

"Still sleeping when I last checked in."

Lena studies Stef's face, "you are really sure about this?"

Stef pauses a moment and then nods, "I know I probably shouldn't be. I'm not delusional, I don't think this is going to be easy, but we've never backed down from a challenge before."

"Have you heard anything else from Bill?", Lena asks.

"He called a bit ago, he cleared it with his supervisor. Because of the open investigation, they will pull Callie from her current foster home. Given her current history with male authority, he agrees that she might do well in our house."

Lena intertwines her fingers with Stef's and leans in and kisses her. "Well then, let's go meet her".

The pair head from Stef's office towards the peds wing. As they walk Stef tries to prepare Lena for what she will see.

Callie wakes up with a start, unsure of where she was. She tries to shift her body and is met with pain and memories of what happened. She moans, drawing her nurses attention to the fact that she is awake.

"Hey there sleepy head, how are you feeling?", the nurse asks. "I know, silly question" she says approaching the bed. "What can I do to help?"

Callie glances around the room looking for the doctor that had been with her since she arrived at the hospital. Not seeing her she makes eye contact briefly with the nurse and again looks away. A tear slides from her eye. She couldn't speak - she couldn't tell. So many bad things had happened in the few short years since her mom died and her dad went away. Not one of the adults that had come into her life since that time had protected her or given her any reason to trust. She wondered why these people should be any different.

The nurse walks around the bed and wipes the tear from Callie's eye. "We are here to help you honey", she says. She pushes a bit further, "you are safe here."

Callie almost gives in, she opens her mouth to speak but before she is able to there is a crash in the hallway outside her door. She looks fearfully at the nurse and is unable to stop the panic that rapidly seeps through her. Within a few seconds her heart feels like it is going to beat out of her chest, her respiratory rate increases and she feels like she can't breathe.

Glancing from Callie to the monitor the nurse notes the rapid change in the girls vital signs. "It's alright" she tries to reassure her, "someone just dropped something, happens . . ", they are interrupted by the door opening.

Stef notices the flashing monitor as soon as she opens the door and in a moment is at Callie's bedside. Lena hangs back in the doorway. Despite that Stef had tried to prepare her for Callie's injuries she is still surprised by what she sees.

Stef picks up Callie's hand, "Hey there sweet girl", she says calmly.

The nurse chimes in, "I was just about to tell her that someone must have dropped something out in the hallway, happens all the time"

Stef smiles at Callie and nods in agreement, "true story", she says trying to keep the room a calming environment. "I need you to do something for me Callie, I need you to slow down your breathing. Think you can do that honey? I just need you to concentrate on me and take some slow deep breaths." The room is silent for a few minutes other than the sounds of breathing. "Good girl", Stef says to Callie as the girl is finally able to regulate her breathing and heart rate.

"I'll leave you guys to chat", the nurse tells them, excusing herself from the room.

Stef turns and gestures for Lena to come closer to the Callie's bedside. "So, Callie girl, I brought someone to meet you."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - a little bit of Callie and moms Friday night fluff. Thanks for the continued response to this story. Reviews get you chapters faster ;).

4.

Lena makes her way over to stand beside Stef, smiling down at girl in the bed. She wondered just what had happened to this child, she was so battered and bruised. She could well imagine that this was true as much for her emotions as it was for her physical appearance. One look into her eyes though and she understood what Stef was trying to tell her. There was just something about this child, the sadness in her eyes, it was almost overwhelming.

"Callie, this is my partner Lena", Stef says introducing Lena.

"It is very nice to meet you Callie", Lena tells the girl. "Stef tells me that you had a rough night last night."

Callie briefly closes her eyes and runs her fingers across her aching head. So many things were flying through her mind. She was so conflicted. "Why' she wondered was this doctor, Stef, being so nice to her? 'Why' was she bringing her partner to meet her? Callie nods her head in response to Lena's comment, still unable to bring herself to speak.

"We wanted to talk to you about something", Stef starts. "I know that you haven't felt much like talking, and I can't say that I blame you. I kind of get the impression that the adults in your life haven't given you much reason to trust them. I can't begin to imagine what you have been through Callie." She waits a moment for any sort of acknowledgment from Callie but the girl continues to just watch them, uncertainty plastered all over her face. "We. . ", she is interrupted by a constant beep form her pager. She glances down at it and silently curses. "Love" she turns to Lena, "It's a 911 in the ER"

Lena gives her a 'are you kidding me look' but nods reluctantly, "Go", she says. "I'll stay and talk with Callie"

She gives Lena a quick kiss, and Callie a smile. "I'm sorry, I'll be back as soon as I can".

Lena watches as Stef runs from the room. She sighs and takes a deep breath before turning back to face Callie. She pulls the chair a bit closer to Callie's bed and sits next to the girl.

"You feeling okay?", Lena asks.

Callie eyes her cautiously and shrugs her shoulders. In truth, she felt like she'd been run over by a bus but as long as no one decided she needed to move she could manage it.

Lena spies the untouched lunch tray on Callie's bedside table. "How about some lunch?" she asks trying another tactic. She gets up and moves the table over. She lifts the cover revealing mac and cheese. "What do you think?" Lena asks?

As hungry as Callie was the thought of food made her stomach do flip flops. She shakes her head 'no'.

"Juice?", Lena asks holding up the cup of apple juice, only to be met by Callie's shaking head once again.

'Hmm, alright then", Lena thinks to herself, this just might be trickier than she'd anticipated. "So, I'm not sure how long Stef will be, so I guess we'll just continue our chat without her". "I know that you don't want to talk about what happened to you last night."

Callie listens intently, wondering where this was going to go.

Lena continues, "Stef talked to your social worker Bill this morning - the story that your foster dad told the police didn't quite fit with your injuries and the police need to investigate that. Because of that you can't go back to your foster home. Stef and I, we are licensed foster parents. We'd like to bring you to our home while everything is sorted out."

Unable to stop herself, tears roll from Callie's eyes. She thinks of her precious baby brother and her promise to do whatever she could to protect him. She so wanted to talk to this woman sitting next to her, maybe her and Stef could help her. These two women who'd shown her more compassion in the short time since she'd met them, than any adult in the past few years. But, Callie had learned shortly after entering the foster care system that trying to make people understand the truth and crying only got you into further trouble. Instead, she'd learned to control her emotions with anger. Through all the pain that she'd gone through in the past 24 hours, beyond a few stray tears she had held it together. That ended in this moment as the tears continued to flow, turning into full on sobs.

"Oh honey", Lena moves so she is sitting on the edge of Callie's bed. She reaches to brush away her tears and then gathers her in her arms as best as possible, hoping she wasn't causing her more pain. She initially thinks that Callie was going to resist, but then felt her melt into her arms. "I can't even pretend to understand what you have been through. It probably seems impossible, but you can trust us. Stef and I, we are going to protect you. You are safe now."

It was like this that Stef found them an hour later when she returned to the room, only by this point Callie was asleep in Lena's arms. She gives Lena a quizzical look and moves closer to the bed.

"I was talking with her about coming to stay with us for awhile and she broke down", Lena whispers. "I took a chance on comforting her."

"Looks like she accepted", Stef smiles, thrilled the girl had allowed herself to be comforted. As much as she hated that Callie was upset, she was happy that the girl had finally given in and cried. "Did she say anything?"

Lena shakes her head, "I thought for a minute she was going too, but no, nothing. Are we worried about the fact that she isn't talking?"

Stef shrugs her shoulders, "I wish that she would. But I think the more that we try to force her to talk, the more she is going to stay silent. I wish she would understand though that she needs to tell us, or someone what happened in that house last night. The only way we can truly help her is for her to talk." Stef pulls up the chair next to the bed and sits. They continue to talk quietly hoping Callie would continue to sleep. "Her nurse stopped me when I was on my way back in here, she said Callie wouldn't touch her breakfast this morning and it looks like you didn't have any better luck with lunch".

Lena glances towards the full food tray. "Nope, nothing. She wouldn't take the food or drink anything. What do you think?"

Stef shakes her head, "could be as simple as the pain meds making her stomach upset. She's been getting some pretty heavy meds."

"Or", Lena sensing there was more to what Stef was thinking.

"Or", she studies the child in Lena's arms. "I don't want to consider any other options right now. For now, we'll give it a few days and see what happens. She won't be ready to leave the hospital for a day or so anyways." There is silence between them for a few minutes, "thank you for being open minded about this Love"

Lena smiles at her partner, "I'm no more capable of sending her back there than you are honey. Despite that Callie hasn't said a word, you're right, there's just something about her", she runs her fingers through the sleeping girls hair.

"You didn't make it back to work", Stef say, changing the subject, realizing by now it was well into the afternoon.

"I had already told them I wouldn't be back this afternoon. The kids are going to take the bus home and your mom is going to meet them there."

"When did you do all that?", Stef replies surprised.

"After I got off the phone with you this morning."

Her partner never ceases to amaze her. "Have I mentioned today how much I love you?", she asks, leaning in and giving Lena a kiss.

Lena smiles back, "I believe so", she mumbles back through the kiss.

They both laugh, realizing that they were being too noisy when Callie shifts in Lena's arms.

"Oops", Stef says glancing down at the girl. "Hey there sleepy head", she says smiling at Callie as the child opens her eyes. "I'm sorry if we woke you up!"

Callie shifts again trying to get comfortable and realizes that everything hurts worse than it did when she'd fallen asleep. She felt like someone was jabbing knives into her fractured wrist and ankle. Her head was pounding so hard she was nauseous. She realizes that Lena is still in the bed with her and still holding her in her arms, which brings her some comfort.

Stef notices the pain etched all over Callie's face, "what hurts sweetie?" When Callie avoids eye contact with her, she reaches out and gently turns her face so they are looking eye to eye again. "Please Callie, we can't help you if you don't talk to us."

Callie keeps her eyes on Stef and gives in, "Everything", she whispers. It was barely audible but both Stef and Lena were able to catch what she'd said. Stef glances at Lena and back at Callie and hits the girls call bell to summon the nurse. "Good girl", she says. "Let's see if we can't get you feeling better". She gets up and grabs the basin from Callie's bedside table and lays it on the bed in front of her. "Just in case", she tells her.

The nurse pops her head into the room and Stef asks for Callie's pain meds. She returns a few minutes later and injects the meds into Callie's IV line and disappears from the room.

Lena starts to shift off the bed to settle Callie in a better position only to be met by Callie's shaking head. "Please", Callie whispers again her voice only slightly stronger that a few moments earlier. "Don't go".

"Oh honey", Lena says shifting herself back onto the bed into a better position to hold Callie, trying to make it more comfortable for both of them. "We aren't going anywhere."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N - Cheers. . Happy Saturday. Longest chapter yet. . it's been a bit of a slow burn till this point but things are starting to come together. It's been a lot of just Callie/Stef and Lena but we'll meet the rest soon enough. Hope you enjoy.

5.

The next 24 hours is dedicated to starting Callie's healing process. Lena took a few personal days off of work and Stef had a few days off before her next shift. Between them they ensured Callie was never left alone and with Sharon's help they ensured Brandon, Jesus and Mariana were cared for at home. They'd heard little from Mike who was waiting for Callie's statement before the case could be progressed or closed. Callie still wasn't talking about what had happened that night.

The first night Lena had spent the night at the hospital so that Stef could finally go home and get some sleep and spend some time with the other kids. It was now just after 7:30 in the evening almost 48 hours since Callie had arrived at the hospital. Lena had just left for the night and Stef was staying with Callie. In the morning they were going to take Callie home. Stef had decided that there was nothing that they were doing for Callie at the hospital that she couldn't do at home, and that the girl would likely recover faster in the presence of the rest of the family. Lena, her mom and the kids were going to spend the evening preparing a spot in the living room where Callie could stay until it was easier for her to go up and down the stairs.

"So, Callie-bug", Stef says smiling at Callie once they were alone. "What do you want to do tonight? I brought pizza, you hungry?"

Callie shakes her head no. Stef brings the pizza box and sits next to Callie, setting the box on the bed between them. "I think it's time for us to have a heart to heart kiddo. You need to eat sweetie."

Her stomach grumbles as she stares down at the pizza box. "I'm just not hungry."

"Hmm", Stef replies, not missing the noise of her stomach. "I think your body is trying to tell you otherwise. Lena said you only had a few bites of lunch and dinner." Stef had asked Callie's medical team to run some nutritional labs earlier that day. She wasn't surprised by the results which showed that Callie probably, by no choice of her own, had not been fed adequately for a long time. When Callie avoids eye contact Stef gently touches her cheek and turns her head towards her. "Listen kiddo", Stef says using her best doctor-mom tone, "it's not optional". She opens the box and hands Callie a slice of the pizza and pulls one out for herself.

Callie reluctantly takes the slice of pizza from Stef. "I'm sorry Stef", she apologizes. "I just. ."

"No need to apologize sweetie. I only want to see you get better."

Stef watches as Callie stares down at the slice of pizza, she could tell the girl was wresting with trying to tell her something.

"What's going on in that pretty little head Cal?", she finally asks.

"Why are you and Lena doing this?" she asks. "Haven't you read my file?"

"You aren't your file Callie. It doesn't matter to Lena and I what the file says".

This takes Callie by surprise. She looks down at the still untouched slice of pizza in her hands, "I, _umm_ , at my last two foster homes, there wasn't a lot of food. I had to take care of my little brother, I always made sure he had enough to eat and after awhile", she shrugs, "I just didn't get hungry anymore."

Her words broke Stef's heart and at the same time made her angry, this was a twelve year old child who'd given so much of herself to care for her little brother. The system built to protect children had failed these children in more ways than one. Over the course of the two days Stef and Lena had been with her, this was the first time Callie had opened up about anything personal and the first time she'd mentioned her brother. When they'd tried to bring up Jude before she'd just clammed up.

There is silence between them for the next few minutes and Callie manages to eat about 2/3 of her slice of pizza before putting the remainder back in the box. Stef was about to try to get her to finish it but decided for now she'd better pick her battles.

"Lena and I have been talking with Bill about bringing Jude to visit you."

"No", Callie practically shouts at her. "you can't do that."

This was not what she was expecting, "Callie", she says calmly, "Lena and I thought that you'd like to see Jude."

She shakes her head, "You can't", she replies. Stef doesn't miss the fear that had crept back into her eyes and her voice.

"Why not Love? You don't want Jude to see you like this?"

" _It's not that,_ he's seen my bruises before", she snaps back at Stef, more anger than fear in her voice now.

Stef's cell beeps indicating a text from Lena, but she ignores it. "Callie, tell me honey. What happened the night you fell down the stairs. Why does the thought of Jude coming to visit you get you so upset."

Callie just stares at Stef, tears now threatening. Flashes of that evening float through her mind.

Despite the tears in Callie's eyes, Stef continues to push. . "You didn't fall down the stairs did you?" she asks point blank.

She pushes her hand through her hair, "No" she says now openly crying. "Please Stef, I can't.. "

Stef places her hand under Callie's chin once again bringing them eye to eye, "Yes", she nods, "You can Cal. No matter what you tell me it isn't going to change mine or Lena's plans to take you home with us."

It seems like forever before Callie speaks and Stef wasn't sure she was actually going to say anything but she finally started to talk again . . "I can't because he said if I tell anyone about anything that happened in that house, he'd hurt Jude and I'd never see him again."

Stef doesn't take her eyes off Callie, "The night of your accident, did you trip and fall down the stairs?" she knows she is risking a lot by pushing her but she feels like if she lets this go in this minute she might lose Callie again and they might never get any answers.

Callie continues to hold Stef's gaze and slowly starts to shake her head, "No, I got between my foster dad and Jude. I was trying to protect Jude from getting hurt." By the end of the sentence her voice was barely above a whisper.

Stef moves the pizza box and slides up on the bed beside Callie and gathers the girl in her arms. Her phone was now beeping that both Mike and Lena had texted her but she continues to ignore them, not wanting to distract Callie from talking. "Callie, what happened. I didn't think that Jude was at home."

Callie shakes her head again and Stef hopes she's not going to shut down on her again.

Callie felt like she was reliving that night as she tells Stef what happened. "We went to live with that foster family a few weeks ago. Bill told us that they really wanted to adopt a little boy. There were pictures all over their house of a boy, about the same age as Jude. I think he was their son, I think something must have happened to him. They didn't talk about him. They didn't really want a girl, but Jude and I came as a package deal and they wanted Jude. _But",_ she pauses a moment thinking about what she was going to say, "everything was okay for the first few days but then they started to fight and he started to drink. He got drunk every night after work. That was nothing unusual though, the last three houses we were in all the foster dads who drank. When they drank they got mean and when they got angry they hit us. I tried to protect Jude as much as I could. He's only 7, he is just a baby, no one should hurt him."

Stef wanted to interrupt her to tell her that she didn't deserve to be hurt either, but she feared if she said anything Callie would quit talking.

"Our foster mom left sometime that day while we were at school. When we came home, he was already drunk. Jude and I hid in our room for most of the night hoping that he'd just leave us alone. . I was tired and I guess I fell asleep. I told Jude to stay in our room but I guess he got bored. There was a room in the house that we had been forbidden to go into - Jude had gone exploring and I guess he got curious and decided to open the door. . . it was a little boys room. Jude found toys to play with. I woke up to the sounds of screaming. . . our foster dad had found Jude in the room and freaked out. I got between them and Jude was able to get out of the room. Jude ran down the stairs to the basement, we'd hidden down there before. I was trying to get to Jude when he caught me . . . " she trails off and takes a deep breath before continuing.

"When I woke up I was at the bottom of the basement stairs.. . .everything hurt.. .I couldn't see Jude. My foster dad got down in my face and told me that if I ever told anyone what happened I'd never see Jude again. . " She was stuck in the moment and could almost smell the alcohol that had been on the man's breath that night. Her stomach does a flip. . "Stef, I don't feel well", she cries out as she snaps out of the moment. Stef grabs the basin from the bedside table and gets it under her chin with only a moment to spare. Stef holds her hair back from her face with one hand and the basin with the other as Callie throws up everything she'd eaten. "It's okay baby", she tells her soothingly. "You did good Cal."

They sit together for a few more moments until Stef is sure that Callie's stomach had settled. She gets up from the bed and washes out the basin and gets Callie to rinse her mouth. She pops her head out into the hall and asks the nurse for Callie's pain and anti-nausea medication.

The nurse comes and goes from the room. "I'm sorry", Callie finally says so quietly that Stef almost misses it. "You shouldn't have to clean up my mess."

"You have nothing to be sorry for baby. I am here to take care of you. You don't have to do that by yourself anymore and I'm going to keep reminding you of that until you believe me." She notices Callie's eyes becoming heavy, the medication taking effect quickly. She brushes her fingers along Callie's forehead. "Don't fight it Cal, go to sleep. I'll be right here with you all night."

When she is sure that Callie has fallen asleep she sits back in the chair beside her bed and picks up her phone. There are a bunch of texts from Lena all asking her to call and a similar message from Mike. It was after ten but she was quite certain Lena would be waiting for her call. Not wanting to wake Callie she gets up and goes into the bathroom, keeping the door only open enough not to wake her, but still able to see her in the bed. She dials Lena's number first.

"Finally", Lena says as she picks up the phone. "How's is going there Love? Is she okay?"

"It's going to be a long road. . ", Stef starts and fills Lena in on what had happened through the evening. They talk for another 45 minutes when she gets yet another message from Mike. "I need to go Love, Mike texted again. I should probably call him back." They say their goodbyes and hang up and she dials Mike's number. "Stef, finally", he says picking up the phone.

"What's wrong?" she asks, sensing an urgency in his voice.

"Bill and I went to the foster home tonight to re-question the father and talk to Jude. The house is empty Stef. The kid is gone. . "


	6. Chapter 6

A/N - Once again thanks for all the great response. Happy Sunday! Here's to chapter 6!

6.

Lena is just about asleep when her phone rings again. She see's that its Stef and quickly picks up, "What's wrong love?" she asks, knowing Stef wouldn't have called back tonight unless something was wrong. "Is Callie okay?"

Stef had finished her conversation with Mike and immediately called Lena back. She glances over at Callie who was still sleeping soundly. "She fine, still sleeping." Stef replies.

"Then what is it honey? I can tell by the sound of your voice that something is wrong."

"I just got off the phone with Mike. He and Bill went over to Callie's foster home this evening to ask further questions about Callie's accident and check in on Jude. They are gone Lena. The entire house had been packed up and they are gone. Both of the foster parents cell phones have been disconnected."

"What. . ", Lena can't hide the surprise in her voice. "But how?"

"They. . Mike as much as said because of Callie's history they took her foster dad at his word. This was a routine follow up check and Mike wanted a chance to talk with Jude."

"So what happens now?" Lena asks, anger creeping into her voice over this situation.

"They are looking for them. Mike put out an APB on both of their vehicles. This was not a planned move and there was no contact with Bill regarding travel of any sort. All we can hope is that they check in."

"And if they don't?"

"I don't want to think about it love". Callie stirs in the bed catching Stef's attention. She watches her for a minute and Callie seems to settle. "How are we going to tell Callie?"

"Hopefully they find him quickly and we won't need too."

"We are going to have to tell her Lena, if she finds out and we haven't told her she is not going to trust us."

Lena knew her partner was right. "We'll tell her tomorrow. Let's just get her home and settled."

"Agreed. Love you babe. See you in the morning."

They say their goodbyes and hang up.

* * *

The remainder of the night and the next morning pass without incident. Lena arrives at the hospital just before noon and they are able to get Callie discharged and home.

Callie had been quiet through the entire ride home and introductions with the other kids.

It was mid-afternoon when Stef's mom had left to go home.

Coming back into the living room after seeing her mom out, Stef can see that Callie looked exhausted and maybe a bit overwhelmed by everything that had occurred today. Mariana was sitting on the couch next to her completely oblivious to the fact that Callie was not really paying attention to what she was talking about.

"Hey Miss Thing", Stef says addressing her daughter. "How about you run up and finish your homework. I think Callie could maybe use a rest."

"But mom", Mariana starts and notices the look on Stef's face. "Fine", she gets up and heads towards the stairs.

"B, Jesus. . " she gestures towards the stairs. "Home work".

The boys get up, "Alright, alright", Jesus replies. "But first I need a snack", he heads towards the kitchen. Brandon follows Jesus out of the room leaving Stef alone with Callie.

"How are you doing sweets?" Stef asks, taking the spot on the sofa beside Callie and placing a hand on the girls thigh. "Do you need anything?"

Callie shakes her head, "I'm fine Stef."

Stef studies her for a minute and decides that maybe she's telling the truth. "Alright then", Stef finally says. "I'll leave you alone for awhile. Promise me you'll call someone to help you if you need to get up. You can't be walking around on that foot yet."

Callie glances at her casted wrist and ankle and knows she had no choice right now but to accept the help. "Agreed Dr. Stef", she replies with a small smile creeping across her face.

Stef doesn't miss the small smile and smiles back at her, realizing its the first time she'd seen Callie's smile. "Ha ha, cute Cal", she replies lightheartedly.

She gets up from the couch, leaves Callie alone in the living room and goes off in search of Lena. She finds Lena sitting at the kitchen table. "Any luck getting through to Bill?" she asks, sitting across the table from Lena.

Lena shakes her head, "Not yet, I left him another message to call back as soon as he gets the message". She glances towards the living room, "how is she?"

"As good as can be expected I think. I think today has been a bit overwhelming but she seems to be handling it okay."

They fall into conversation about the plans for the week, work, kid and Callie schedules. She'd eventually join the other kids at Anchor Beach but needed at least another week to recover from her injures before going to school. The conversation eventually comes back to what they'd been avoiding discussing, "We are going to have to tell her about Jude", Lena says.

"I know", Stef replies. "I was hoping we'd have some answers by now and have something to tell her"

Before Lena can respond there is a voice behind them. "Who is Jude?" Stef and Lena both turn to the sound of their daughters voice.

"Jude is Callie's little brother sweets", Stef replies honestly.

"What do you have to tell her about him? Where is he?" Mariana continues to question her moms.

A crash coming from the living room ends the conversation. Stef and Lena jump to their feet and race towards the living room leaving Mariana with no answer to her question. Callie is sound asleep on her makeshift sofa bed, and instead they find Jesus is standing at the bottom of the stairs looking guilty. "Sorry moms" he says taking in the look on their faces. "I dropped my skateboard down the stairs".

Lena shakes her head, "It's alright Jesus. . . we just thought" she glances at Callie. "Just be careful bud", she says returning her attention to her son.

Jesus reaches down and picks up the skateboard. "I will moms", he calls over his shoulder as he races out the door.

"Back by dinner young man", Stef calls after him shaking her head as the door slams shut behind him.

The women both cringe at the slamming of the door and turn towards the living room watching as Callie who'd had slept through the first crash jumps at the sound of the banging door. They were both worried the loud noises would set off one of Callie's panic attacks. Instead, they watch as she and swings her feet over the edge of the sofa bed and tries to stand.

"Damn", Stef mumbles under her breath as she moves quickly towards Callie realizing the girl wasn't fully awake. Lena is right behind her. They reach Callie just as puts her full weight on her fractured ankle. "Where do you think your going little lady?" Stef says catching the girl under her arms and supporting her weight.

Callie shakes her head. . "I, umm. . . ", now fully awake, "nowhere", she says answering Stef's questions with another small smile. She glances from Stef to Lena as she realizes what she'd just about done.

Stef sighs and smiles back at her. They settle her back on the sofa bed, "Can we get you anything? Are you hungry?" She knew what the girls answer was going to be but she had to give it a try.

"Nope", Callie answered as she predicted.

Lena glances at Stef, "So Callie, Stef and I wanted to talk with you about something".

Before she can continue Mariana walks into the living room. "What's up?", she asks.

Before she can sit, "Sweets, mama and I need to talk with Callie for a few minutes. Think you can find something else to do for awhile?" Stef asks her.

"Fine", Mariana replies, full attitude in her voice. She glares at Callie for a minute and then turns and leaves the room.

"Mari. . ", Stef starts and Lena puts a hand on her arm, "Leave it love, we'll talk with her after." Mariana doesn't turn around and disappears from the room.

"I don't want to cause any trouble", Callie tells them when Mariana is gone.

"You aren't, this is all just going to be a period of adjustment for everyone." Lena tells her.

Callie shrugs her shoulders, "well its not like I'll be here for long, so it won't be that big of an adjustment." Her defences were up again.

"What do you mean by that honey?" Lena asks.

"You said that I was going to stay with you while the police investigate what happened to me. I'm just a foster kid who has a history of causing trouble. No one is going to believe me. Another day or so and Bill will be here to take me back". She says it with such assuredness that both Lena and Stef believe she truly thinks this is what will happen.

"About that", Stef starts, it was now or never. She needed to know the truth. "You remember me telling you about Brandon's dad, Mike", she starts and when Callie nods she continues. "As I was telling you Mike is the police officer that is investigating you case. Last night your social worker, Bill and Mike went over to your foster home to ask your foster dad some other questions and to check in on Jude."

Callie starts to feel like the room is closing in on her. . .

"Sweets, there was no one at the house. The house was empty - at some point in the previous twenty-four hours the family left and took everything with them."

"Jude?", comes out as a sob. Her respiratory rate increasing and her heart starting to feel like it was once again going to pound out of her chest . . "I . . . told . . . you" She struggles to get herself up off the couch.

Stef takes her hand trying to draw the girl out of her impending panic attack. "Look at me Callie", she says calmly "and just breathe".

It takes her a minute but she is able to match Stef's breathing, "he told me, he told me that I would never see Jude again if I told anyone what happened. I did this, I did this. . He's going to hurt him and its all my fault." Tears stream down her face. "I have to find him", she cries as she once again tries to get herself standing up.

Lena wraps her arms around Callie and Stef holds her hand. "A lot of people are looking for Jude right now honey. You can't go right now. And you have to believe us, this is not your fault."

"Sweetie", Stef continues. "You can help Jude by trying to think if there was anything or anywhere your foster parents talked about that might help the police track them down."

* * *

 _Elsewhere much later that night . . ._

"Where are we going?", the little boy asks the man when he finally stops the car. "What happened to my sister? Is she dead like my mommy?"

" ** _Shut up, shut up_** ", the man yells at him, putting his head into his hands. "I can't think with your constant questions and whining.

The little boy slinks down into his seat and puts his blanket to his face trying to quiet his cries. He missed his sister. She had promised they would always be together. His mind wanders back to that night. He was hiding behind the boxes in the basement when he'd heard the man screaming at his sister. He should have gone out to protect her. She'd protected him from getting hit. Before he knew it he saw her tumbling down the stairs and she was so quiet and not moving. . . he didn't think she was breathing. He was too afraid to come out from behind the boxes, afraid that the man would hurt him next. When the paramedics came and took Callie away he was so afraid that she was dead he was too scared to tell anyone that he was there. He'd fallen asleep hidden down there and when he woke up it was next morning. He'd walked quietly upstairs and when the man saw him instead of being angry he was nice again, but he'd called him Matthew instead of Jude. He was afraid to correct him, he wondered if Mathew was the boy in the pictures. The man told him they were going to go for a ride in the car and he knew better than to argue.

At some point he fell asleep and when he awoke again the car was still stopped. It was dark, but he could see that the man had also fallen asleep. He quietly opened up the back door and slips out of the car into the darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N sorry for the shorter chapter - seemed like the right spot to end this chapter off ;). On the upside, the next one is just about finished. Possibly not too many chapters left.

7.

Jude gets a few feet from the car and turns and looks back. He hesitates and thinks about what he was doing. He see's the shadow of the man in the car and trembles - he could go back to back to the car but shutters at the thought.

'No', he shakes his head. If she was okay she'd come looking for him. Since the day they entered foster care Callie had been teaching him. They had relied on each other for so long. No matter what foster home they were in, whenever they had a chance Callie took him back. Even though Callie got in trouble, and so many time she got hit when they'd disappear for long periods of time, she still took him. Over and over again from wherever their foster home was located, they practiced until he could find his way there. If they were ever separated it was going to be their meeting place and from there they'd run away together.

He needed to find someplace to hide until it was daylight and he could figure out where he was. He'd watched throughout the day while the man was driving around and knew they hadn't left the city. He'd recognized a few of the landmarks that Callie had made him memorize. He just needed to wait until daylight and he'd figure out his way and then he'd go and wait, he'd stay there until Callie came for him. If she could, she will go there.

* * *

Over the next twenty four the Adams Foster family bore witness to the sheer determination and independence that was Callie Jacobs. . . the unfortunate part being that she once again shut everyone out. While she didn't stop speaking, her response to any question about how she was doing was 'fine'. She didn't speak unless she was spoken too and didn't offer anything to conversations. In fact she rarely asked for anything and completely avoided any discussion relating to her brother.

The other kids were trying their best to make Callie feel at home and included, but both Lena and Stef could both see that even they were tiring of Callie's silence. Early in second day in their home Callie had mastered the awkward use of her crutches. Both Lena and Stef stood by and watched as with her fierce determination she somehow made it work with a casted wrist. Stef knew that the child had to have been in pain but she denied it whenever asked.

When Callie learned of Jude's disappearance she knew that she needed to get herself moving again because she knew that she needed to leave. As much as it hurt to shut Stef and Lena out she couldn't get attached. They were so kind to her and she had even started to love them but she knew that once she went to find Jude there was no way that they'd want her anymore. She so wanted to trust them, to tell them . . but her years in foster care taught her that the only person she could trust was Jude.

That evening Stef pulls on her scrub top and pulls her hair back into a messy ponytail, getting ready to head into the hospital for the night shift. "I don't have to go", she says to Lena, who was sitting on the bed watching her get ready. "I can take a few personal days."

"My Love", Lena says shaking her head at her, "Go to work. The kids and I will be fine."

"But Callie . . . ", Stef starts and Lena cuts her off.

"Will be fine. I think the best thing for her right now is that we fall back into a normal routine. You've seen it, the more we hover the more she shuts herself off from us. The more we try to help her the more she tries to be independent."

"I hate it when you are right", Stef says smiling, leaning down and kissing Lena. "You'll page me if anything happens right?" she looks at her partner questioningly.

Lena playfully smacks her as she gets up off the bed, "Go, momma tiger" she says pointing to the door. "You need to work so that we can support this growing crew."

Stef gives in, realizing Lena is right. "Night babies", she tells each of the kids as she pops her head into their rooms. "Be good for mama."

She heads down the stairs with Lena on her heels. "I'll see you in the morning Callie"

Callie was surprised to see Stef in her scrubs, her defences momentarily drop. "You're leaving?"

Stef hears something in the girls voice and glances at Lena, "Mom has to go into the hospital for the night", Lena tells the girl, jumping in before Stef can speak.

As soon as she realizes she's let her defences down she put them back up again, "whatever", she shrugs and looks away from them.

Lena can read the look on Stef's face, "You are going love, we'll be fine" she tells her when they are out of Callie's earshot.

Stef gathers the remainder of her stuff and kisses Lena goodbye. "I'll call you later. Love you". She says as she reluctantly heads out the door.

Stef is thankful for the distraction of the ER. The night was busy and flew by. She'd had a chance to call Lena before bed and everything at the house was going as well as could be expected. When she arrives back home in the morning the house is still quiet. She enters the house quietly not wanting to wake Callie up. Looking into the living room she expects the girl to be asleep on her sofa bed. Finding it empty she momentarily panics. She wanders through the main floor thinking maybe Callie was in the bathroom. Finding the main floor empty she takes the steps two at a time and races to her bedroom. She stops in the doorway, Callie was curled up on her side of the bed. Lena was sitting up leaned on pillows catching up on some work and glances up when she senses Stef in the doorway.

"Morning love", she whispers and smile at Stef..

Stef walks into the room and over to Lena, kissing her good morning and gestures at Callie. "A night-time visitor?"

"She had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep", Lena explains. "She made it up her on her own and asked if she could stay for awhile. I couldn't say no" Lena replies.

Stef smiles, "Oh, of course not", she teases her partner. Stef pulls her hair from her pony tail and shakes her head. "Guess I'll jump in the shower since my spot is currently occupied."

Later that morning . .

"So what do you want to do today kiddo?", Stef asks Callie. Lena and the other kids had already headed off to Anchor Beach for the day leaving Stef and Callie home alone.

Callie shrugs, "I'm still kinda tired"

Stef sits down next to her on the couch, "You want to talk about your nightmare?"

As expected the girl shakes her head. "No"

"You win", she says standing up, deciding that she would follow Lena's lead and not hover over the girl. "But if you decide you want to talk, I'm here."

As Stef turns she hears the girls voice behind her. "Stef"

She turns around, "What is it love?" The look on the girls face tells her that she wants to talk about something but was wrestling with whether or not too.

Callie shakes her head, "Umm, nothing. I'm sorry".

Stef approaches her, "you can talk to me honey, about anything. You know that right."

Callie nods, "I just…", she starts and hesitates.

Stef can see that the girl was conflicted. Before Callie can say anything else Stef's phone rings. She glances down and see's that it's Mike. She contemplates not taking the call, feeling like Callie was on the verge of telling her something but decides that it might be about Jude and that she should answer. "I'm just going to answer this in the kitchen. I'll be right back Cal, and then maybe we can try to talk about that dream?"

Callie nods and Stef disappears into the kitchen. Callie's see's Stef wallet sitting on the steps. Her plan had been to take whatever cash Stef had, but now that she had the opportunity she just couldn't do it. The little bit of change she found in the sofa would get her a bus ticket, which was all she really needed. As quietly as she could she grabs her crutches and heads out the front door. "I'm sorry Stef", she thinks to herself as she glances back into the house. She turns and leaves before she could change her mind.

Stef wanders through the kitchen and steps out into the back yard and answers her phone.

"Mike", she answers.

"Stef, we got Callie's foster dad", Mike tells her. "Night security found him parked in the premium outlets parking lot."

"And Jude?", she asks hopeful. "They found him too?"

"Stef, the guy was alone. He's had some sort of mental breakdown - he freaked after Callie fell down the stairs, he was afraid of losing the kid. Seems he had a son Jude's age, the kid died a few years ago in a drowning accident while they were on a camping trip. He and his wife took in Jude and Callie thinking they were ready to be parents again. Neither were able to cope. As Callie said, his wife left the morning of the accident. We haven't tracked her down yet. Guy thinks she took off out of state to her sister's place."

"Why the hell did CPS ever leave Callie and Jude there", she knew Mike wouldn't have an answer to the question any more than she did, but she lets her anger get the better of her for a moment. "Where is Jude, Mike?"

"John, the foster father, he said that Jude disappeared from the car when he stopped the previous night."

" ** _Two nights_** , Mike. . he is 7 years old boy. Did he even bother to look for him." Her anger was getting the better of her.

"Stef, we've got every officer in the city out looking for him. All the hospitals in the city have his picture. We are going to find him."

She opens up the back door, feeling like she needed to go and check on Callie. She notices the living room is empty and quickly starts to search the house. "Dammit", she curses.

"Stef, what's wrong" Mike asks.

She runs up the stairs praying she'll find Callie in her bed again. Looking in all the kids room and the bathrooms and ending up at her room she finds them all empty.

"Callie's gone. I'll call you back." She shuts the phone off and races back down the stairs. The girl couldn't have gone far.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N - Happy Sunday! Thanks for the ongoing reviews, follows & fav's.

8.

Stef throws open the front door and relief floods through her when she see's the girl sitting on the swing. "Callie?" she says taking a step out and realizes the girl was crying. As she approaches the girl she realizes that she looks flushed, although she was also crying which was likely the cause.

Callie looks up at Stef, "I can't do it" she sobs.

"You can't do what honey?", Stef asks confused.

"I was going to leave", Callie replies, continuing to cry.

Stef sits down beside her on the swing and wraps an arm around her. "Where were you going to go love? Why did you think you need to leave?"

"Jude" she says looking down at the ground, her sobs calming.

"Sweetie", Stef gets up off the swing and crouches down on the ground, lifting Callie's chin so that they are looking eye to eye. "So many people are looking for Jude right now. Mike just told me that the whole police force is out there looking for him."

"But I was supposed to look after him Stef. He is my responsibility."

"Oh honey", she says, "You are twelve years old Callie. You have done a great job looking after him, but looking after your brother is not _just_ your responsibility".

Callie shakes her head, disagreeing, "I made my mom a promise on the day that Jude was born. I promised her that I would always look after him."

"That's a pretty big responsibility", Stef tells her.

Callie shrugs, "it's what big sisters do, that's what my mom always told me."

She couldn't fault the girl for her thoughts, and if she'd gone through what they'd gone through since entering the foster system she couldn't blame her for her feelings either. "If Jude was alone, do you know where he would go?" Stef takes a chance and asks.

Callie takes a deep breath and nods her head.

"Where honey?" she asks, "it's important that you tell me. Any information that you can think of will help the police find Jude."

"Home", she says simply.

Stef gives her a confused look, "Home? Callie, honey, what do you mean?"

Callie swallows hard and doesn't take her eyes off Stef as she tells her story. "From the day that we went to foster care, we were so afraid we'd be separated. The lady that took us from our home after mom died told us that that would never happen, but she also told us she was going to take us to stay with a _nice_ family. I learned early on that there was no one that Jude or I could trust. No matter what foster home we went too, and there were a lot, we'd always sneak away and find our way back home."

Stef starts to understand, "when you would disappear for long periods from your foster home?" she asks, remembering what Bill had told her.

"Jude and I were practicing getting back home. It was going to be our meeting place. I know that Jude is just a little kid Stef, but from every foster home in the city that we have lived in, he could find his way back home. No one has lived there after us. Daddy had built us a tree house in the backyard. We'd stay there for a little while. . . just pretending for a little while that our mom didn't die and dad didn't go away."

"Is that where you going to leave and go back to today?" , Stef asks.

Callie nods, "You guys were never going to keep me. Eventually I was gonna mess this up. . it's what I do.", she shrugs. "I just thought it would be easier if I just left on my own. But it's not", she says sadly, "I couldn't do it."

Stef wraps her arms around the girl. "Nothing that you could ever do is going to make us send you away Callie."

Callie wraps her arms around Stef and genuinely hugs her back. When she finally lets go, Stef pulls back slightly and wipes the remaining stray tears from Callie's eyes. "Do you think you can take me there? To where Jude is supposed to meet you?"

She nods, "I can. But its probably useless. If our foster dad took Jude, there is no way that he can be there."

"It's a long shot Cal, but I think that we have to go look.", she debating whether or not to tell the girl about her talk with Mike but she hadn't lied to Callie yet and she wasn't going to start now, "I just talked to Mike, they found your foster dad last night. Jude ran away from him last night."

Callie nods, trying to balance the little bit of hope that was starting to peek through her fear. She grabs for her crutches and tries to get up. "Let's go"

"First things first sweets, are you feeling okay?" she asks, putting her hand out to stop Callie from getting up. "You are flushed and a bit warm. I know that you were crying. . ", her tone a bit more serious, there had been something nagging her about the girl since she'd found her on the swing. "You've been pushing yourself really hard." she studies her face.

Callie shrugs, she'd been achier today and her head had been hurting more than usual but she was so focused on Jude she'd been ignoring it. "I'm okay", she tells Stef. She had already caused enough trouble today.

Stef studies her for another minute before relenting despite her gut feeling. "Alright", she says not pushing the child further. "What is the address of you old home? I need to let Mike and Lena know where we are going".

Callie rhymes off the address of the home where she lived with her parents. "Good girl", Stef tells her pulling out her phone.

She drafts her first message to Lena. "Love, we have a lead on where Jude is. . will phone you as soon as I know anything." She types in the address. "This is where the children lived with their parents. They planned to meet there if they were ever separated."

And then she sends a similar message to Mike. She types in the address followed by "Callie says this is where she and Jude agreed to meet if they were ever separated. I will meet you there, please make sure you have an ambulance on stand by. Have them stay far enough away that Callie won't be able to see it. I don't want to freak her out." She hates the idea of taking Callie with her, being as she was unsure of what they would find when they got there. If Jude did make it there, the past few nights have been cool and he'd now been on the streets alone for almost 2 days.

She grabs her purse and her work bag, just in case. Hoping, praying she wouldn't need it. She helps Callie up off the swing. "Let's go".

The drive to Callie and Jude's home takes about twenty minutes in traffic from Stef and Lena's. It's an older neighbourhood than the one where they currently live and the houses all look similar. She glances over at Callie, who was watching out the window as they drove. The child hadn't said a word since they'd left home. She finally pulls up in front of a small house, there was as SOLD sign on the lawn, but it still looked deserted. She is just shutting off the car when she see's Mike pull up behind her in the squad car. She places a hand on Callie's thigh, "Ready?" she asks.

Callie nods, remaining silent - her anxiety had been building the closer they got to the house. The more her anxiety grew, the worse her head hurt. She hadn't missed the sign on the front lawn, which was new from the last time they'd come here. "If he's here, he'll be in the treehouse out back."

A second vehicle pulls up behind Mike's and Stef realizes it's Lena's. "Looks like mama decided to come too". Stef gets out of the vehicle and greets Mike and then hugs Lena. "Thank's love, you didn't have to leave work."

"I'm not letting you do this alone Stef", Lena replies. "Of course I had to leave work."

"Callie says if he's here he will be in the treehouse in the back yard", Stef tells Mike and Lena.

"You guys go", Lena tells Mike and Stef, "I'll wait with Callie."

Stef nods and opens up the back door of the car and pulls out her work bag, "Mama is going to wait here with you while Mike and I go and see if Jude is here."

Callie nods and watches as Stef and Mike disappear around the house. She leans her head against the window for a moment, it was cool and she was felt like she was sweating. She is interrupted by Lena who opens up her door. "Doing okay Cal?" she asks. "I know this is hard."

Callie nods, and climbs out of the vehicle when Lena hands her her crutches. "It's hard to come here", she replies honestly. "But at the same time, it makes me feel closer to my mom."

Lena wraps and arm around Callie's shoulder and feels the warmth of her skin, "Callie?" she stops and turns and looks at the girl and places a hand across her forehead. "Sweetie, you are burning up."

Mike and Stef disappear around the house, the treehouse was in the yard just as Callie had said it would be. "You think he's here?" Mike asks as they approach the treehouse.

Stef shrugs, "I think it's a long shot, but the only lead we have right now. I pray that he is here. It's better than all the alternatives that have been floating through my head."

"Agree", he says. They reach the stairs for the treehouse - "I'll go up first" Mike tells her and climbs the stairs. He disappears inside the treehouse within a moment he's calling her name, "Stef, get up here."

Stef scrambles up the ladder into the treehouse. She see's Mike in the corner kneeling next to what looks like a mound of blankets. Sticking out of the mound of blankets she see's a small pale hand. Her heart sinks and she's at Mike's side in a moment. She sinks down beside Mike, "he has a pulse", Mike tells her but she already has her fingers around the little boy's wrist. She's reassured by the steady rhythm below her fingers. She uncovers the child surveying him for injuries and doesn't find anything obvious.

"Jude, sweetie", she says gently shaking the child. The boy wakes with a start and tries to scramble away from them. They both reach out catching him. "It's okay", Stef says calmly. "We are here to help you Jude".

Before Jude can reply, Mike steps back behind Stef. He could see panic in the boy's eye when he looks at him. He radio's into the station that they'd found the boy. "I'll wait outside Stef" he continues and heads out of the treehouse and down the ladder when he see's Stef nod.

Stef doesn't take her eyes off Jude but doesn't speak again till she senses that Mike has left.

"Jude", Stef says again, still not taking her yes off the boy. He looked so tiny and afraid. "My name is Stef", she tells him. "I'm a doctor" she continues. "I'm just here to help you". When he still says nothing she continues, "Callie told us that we might find you here."

At that, he tilts his head, "Callie?" he whispers.

She nods her head, "Callie has been staying with my partner Lena and I and our children."

He shakes his head in disbelief, "Callie is dead" he says looking like he might try to bolt. "I saw her, I saw the ambulance people take her away. You are lying. All big people do is lie us."

"She's not dead sweetie", Stef tells the boy, her voice remaining level and calm. "She got hurt when she fell down the stairs, but she came to the hospital and she is getting better. I promise you I'm telling the truth. Callie is here with me. She is waiting outside with Lena."

She see's Jude briefly glance toward the window and then back at her, there were tears now blurring his eyes.

"Are you okay sweetie?" she asks. "You have been all by yourself for two days."

He nods, "I got here all by myself. Just like Callie taught me to do", his voice cracks but his resolve not to cry holds.

"You did good buddy" Stef reaches a tentative hand out towards him. "Do you want to go see your sister?"

She continues to watch him, she could still see the conflict written all over his face. He slowly reaches a hand out towards Stef's. She wraps her hand around his, he was small for his age and she's amazed that he made it back here in one piece. He looked dehydrated but otherwise Stef couldn't see any other obvious signs of injury or harm.

They make their way towards the treehouse entrance, "Coming down Mike" she calls down.

Mike calls to Lena to bring Callie around the house.

Stef starts down the ladder, the little boy following after. They reach the bottom just as Lena and Callie make their way around the house. As soon as the boy spots his sister he drops Stef's hand and goes running across the yard. "Callie" he cries as he goes flying into her arms. Stef makes her way to Lena and wraps her arm around her waist. They both watch with tears in their eyes as Callie drops to her knees and gathers her little brother in her arms.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Short chapter - just wanted to let you know I hadn't given up on this story. Sorry for the long delay between chapters. August got away from me. Are you still interested in this story?

* * *

Lena leans into Stef, still watching the kids. "He's okay?" she asks.

Stef slides her hand into Lena's, "I think so, nothing obvious. He looks dehydrated and I'm sure he is probably suffering from malnutrition like Callie, but overall he seems okay."

"Something is going on with Callie", Lena says shifting slightly and moving her gaze from the kids to Stef. "She's got a fever but she is denying that she doesn't feel well."

"I thought the same earlier", Stef replies. "She denied it to me as well."

"What do you think?" Lena asks.

"I think she's been pushing herself for days, she's run down, refusing pain medication. I will have a look at her when we get home."

"What are we going to do Stef? Can we really take on two more kids?" Lena turns and looks at her partner.

Stef shakes her head, "I don't know Love. But that girl", she sighs glancing at Callie, "I don't think I can send them away."

Lena was well aware of the connection between Stef and Callie, "I know love", she says squeezing Stef's hand. "Somehow we'll figure it out."

Hand in hand they walk towards Jude and Callie. Callie stands as she notices them approaching and throws her arms around Stef. "Oh", Stef says as the girl collides into her. It was the first time Callie had initiated any sort of physical contact other than asking Lena to sleep on Stef's side of the bed. She's never shied away when they had wrapped their arms around her to comfort her, but she'd never initiated the contact. Stef wraps her arm around Callie, who was still radiating heat. "What's this for?" Stef asks with a smile.

"You found Jude." the girl replies.

Stef pulls away slightly from Callie, jus enough to look her in the eye, "You did the work sweetie, you trusted me enough to let me help you."

Lena crouches down so she is at the same level as Jude. "You must be Jude", she says smiling at the little boy. "I'm Lena and I'm very happy to finally meet you." She holds out a hand to the little boy.

He stands back hesitantly, Callie nods to him and he steps forward and shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you Miss Lena" he replies.

They are interrupted by Lena's cell phone. She pulls it out and see's it's Bill. "I'd better take this" she says answering the phone and walking away from Stef and the kids.

Stef watches as Lena walks away, and then turns and studies Callie's face, she was definitely more pale than earlier in the day. She puts her hand on the girls forehead. "Sweets you have a fever" she says seriously. "Talk to me Cal, what's going on?"

Callie glances at Jude - Recognizing that Callie didn't want to talk about this in front of Jude she bends down so she is at eye level with the the little boy "Jude, sweetie, can you go over and wait with Lena for a minute? I just need to talk to Callie."

He glances at his sister.

"It's okay buddy", Callie tells him.

With Callie's permission the little boy walks over to Lena.

"Truth time" Stef says turning back to Callie once Jude has reached Lena.

"I don't know", Callie replies honestly, knowing what Stef was asking. "Everything is achy, my head hurts."

Stef studies the girl, despite the fever and her pale, tired appearance she seemed okay. "Okay", she finally says. "The mom in me wants to take you to the hospital and run some tests. The doctor in me says take you home and let you try and sleep this off."

"My vote goes for home", Callie replies shrugging her shoulders. "That is if I get a vote", she says quickly when she see's the look on Stef's face. "I'll be okay, please don't worry about me."

"I do worry about you sweetie, you've been through so much since your accident and you've been pushing yourself way to hard." Stef tells her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jude stands waiting for Lena to get off the phone. When she finally he hangs up, "Am I in trouble Miss Lena?", he asks. "I was a bad boy, running away from my foster father."

"Oh sweetie", she says crouching down to his level. "You weren't bad and you aren't in trouble."

"But I ran away. Callie always got hit when we ran away."

Lena shakes her head, "Baby, you and Callie are never going to get hit again."

"I don't have to go back there?" he asks. "They were going to adopt me."

"No", Lena replies. "You don't have to go back there. I just talked to your social worker and for now, you are coming with Callie back to our house. That is, if it's okay with you". She smiles at the little boy.

He nods his head, "sounds like a good idea" he says cracking a small smile.

"Well then, it's a plan", Lena says smiling back at the sweet innocent little boy in front of her. "Let's say we see if your sister Stef are ready to go" She holds out a hand to the little boy. At first she wasn't sure if he was going to take her hand but he finally reaches out and takes it. Together they walk over to Stef and Callie.

"How's it going over here?" Lena asks. "You okay sweets?", she asks Callie.

Callie nods, "Tired", she says honestly.

"Well then, let's get you guys home. Bill has given us approval to take June home with us."

Together they walk around the house. Mike meets then as they reach the front corner of the house. "Everything good?" he asks.

"I'll take the kids to the car", Lena says leading Callie and Jude to Stef's SUV.

"He seems fine", Stef tells Mike when Lena and the kids are out of earshot.

"Kid is lucky", Mike says shaking his head, "this could have ended very differently."

"You don't have to say it Mike, when you were leaning over him. . ", she shutters, well aware of what could have happened. "I was sure he was. . " she can't say the word.

She didn't have to finish, "Go Stef, take them home. I have more paperwork to finish up here. I'll follow up with you in a few days."


End file.
